Spike.



N. ABRAMSUN.

SPIKE.

PPLIOATION FILED JULY 25,1913. y 1,108,483. Patented Aug. 25, 1914,

m jw.

NATHAN AB-RAMSON, GF WASHING-TON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

SPIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 25, 1914.

Application filed July 25, 1913. Serial No. 781,155.

To all whom it may/concern Be it known that I, NATHAN ArsnAMsoN, a subject of the King' of Great- Britain, but who have filed a declaration and received my first papers to become a citizen of the United States, residing at "Washington," in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spikes; and I do hereby declare the following to he a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of'this specification.

My invention relates to improvements iu spikes, primarily designed to be used in connection with railroad tracks.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a spike or fastener which, when driven into a tie, will offer great resistance to its withdrawal by the track.

A further object of the invention is to 'provide means for causing the wood to defleet the holdingprongs, and to assist in increasing the grip of the ,spike in the wood, when the former is finally driven in place.

My invention also contemplates improvements in the details of construction and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in theclaims. o

Referring 'to the .accompanying drawings: Figure l is a side elevation of myimproved spike; Fig. r2 is av sectional view illustrating a spike partly driven finto a tie, and the prongs just Abeginning to b'e deiected; Fig. 3 is also a sectional view illusltratingthe spike fully driven into a tie;

Fig. et is cross section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line 5-5 of Fig. l; Fig. 6 is an enlarged frag` mentary view of the lower end of the spike to illustrate the cutting edges of the prongs; Fig. 7 is a view of a modified form of spike.

Referring tothe drawings, l designates a tubular shank having ahead 2, and a rib 3, the latter depending from'the overhanging portion of the head, the rib being adapted to act as a brace between the head and the shank and also to prevent the spike rotating when driven into a tie. The upper portion of the shank l, adjacent the head is solid, as indicated at 4, the solidy portion extending a suitable distance below the head, and forms the top of or an abutment in the tubular portion. The lower end of the tubular portion of the shank is provided with a plurality of slits 5, to form a series of prongs 5**t-he lower ends ofwhich are sharpened to form cutting edges 6 to facilitate vdriving the spike in a tie. The outer lower :ends of the prongs are beveled at 6 to counteract somewhat the rapidly dei'iecting tendency of the prongs, and to regulate the point at which they begin todeflect, when driving the spike. .This insures a steady and even deflection, and the angle of deflection may be varied by varying the an- I gle of the inner or outer bevel.

In the modification in Fig. 7 I have shown the tubular part of the shank l provided with a series ofi openings 7 into which the wood enters after having been depressed by the solid part of the shank 4.

In operation the spike is driven into 'a tie and by reason of the tubular constructions compressed core 9 of wood is formed. The beveled and sharpened formation of the lower end of the shank will cause the latter to follow a straight line when {i1-st driven into the wood, but upon further driving the spike, the friction between the latter and the wood increases and the prongs ,commence to spread as shown in Fig. 2.

Gnce the prongs start to deflect they spread rapidly and acutely as the spike is hammered into the tie, until they assume the position shown in Fig. 3. Before the spike is entirely driven into the tie, the solid portion 4comes into contact with the core 9,

and further compresses it, which results in the wood adjacent the prongs being forced outwardly against the same, which tends to assist -in their deflection, This construction not only tends to deflect the prongs, but itgalso creates a binding action between the core and spike, which greatly increases the friction between the two elements, hence insures the spike obtaining a secure grip in the wood.

I am aware pronged spikes are old in the art, but my invention aims to provide means whereby in the driving of the spike, the core of wood will be compressed to .effectively assist in spreading the prongs,

and to offer increased frictienal resistance between the spike and wood to prevent displacement by continued vibratiou of the parts.

y compressing the wood conlined in the hollow portion which serves to spread the prongs and increase the friction betweenY the spike and the wood. v

2. A spike comprising a head and a shank, the shank being solid for a substantial distance below the plane of the bottom of the head, said'shank being hollow below the' solid portion, whereby when the spike is ldriven into a piece of wood, the bottom will compress the wood confined in the hollow portion and serve to increase the friction between the stem and the wood and to distort the lower end of the stem.

8. A spike comprising \a head and a shank,

the 'shank being solid for a substantialdis- "es @if tance below the plane of the bottom of the head, said shank being hollow kbelow the solid portion and provided at its lower end with slits to vform a series of prongs, the lower ends of the. prongs being sharpened on both sides, the bottom of the solid portion of the stem compressing the wood confined in the hollow portion which serves to spread the prongs and increase the friction between the spike and the wood.

' LA spikcom-prising a head and a shank, the shank being hollfdfaportion of'its length and open at the bottom, the closed lportion extending below the plane of the bottom of the head, the shank having lateral openings connecting with the hollow portion. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. v

Y 1 NATHAN ABRAMSON.

Witnesses:

EMILY F. CAMP, W. A. WILLIAMS. 

